So I treated myself to a pair of Nike Thea trainers today. I am always complaining of pains in my feet from standing all day. Yet another sign I’m an “oul wan” I recently have experienced inflammation in my hip. The result of years of standing all day long. I like to walk for exercise and for pleasure, so I guess my poor legs are feeling the effects. I’ve had some Chiropractic treatments for my hip and shoulder pain. I will do another post on this soon and tell you all about my experience. I have been advised by Lorraine in Revive Chiropractic to wear supportive footwear to balance my pelvis and stop me leaning on one side. Hairdresser problems eh??

Gawwwd I really am soooo old, arnt I??  

Anyway I used to live in flip flops in previous summers but since I’ve had this hip trouble I need to wear proper shoes. My Asics trainers that I wear out walking look totally ridiculous for work. So I was on the hunt for a some fashionable, functional footwear.

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 Hi Everyone, Some of You have been following my Unislim journey. Last week I received my 7lb cert. I was delighted with this, as I have worked really hard. My Unislim leader Geraldine is a great support and always has loads of helpful tips and advice for me. This week I had a few things on, I was out for dinner on Saturday night. I also had  planned a trip to the Galway Races with my friend Rena. I had a particularly tough week due to a family matter also. I have to be honest ladies, this week really tried my willpower to the last. The two outings were planned treats, I knew I would be indulging in food and drinks on these two occasions so that was fair enough. I hadn’t really been drinking much lately so I knew I would let loose a bit at the races, and What harm??? You have to live a little. We all have our treat times right?? Were only human, after all.

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Hi Everyone,So We are making an effort to try out a new “foodie haunt” once a month. I think We are so lucky in Mayo as We have some great places to eat. The quality of the food on the west coast is amazing & its good to go around and try new places. I really enjoy going out for dinner, more than going out for drinks. Im showing my age…   We really enjoy going out for a meal, as its a great way to spend quality time together. Sitting down to chat while facing each other is great for communication. Sometimes life can be so busy and its lovely to enjoy some relaxing time away from all the drama. So this month We decided to try Pat Cohan’s Gastro Pub in Cong. Its about a thirty minute drive from our house, so it was perfect. Mr Dillon agreed to let me have a glass of wine so He drove. I had a bit of a tough week to be honest so I had two glasses of pinot gricio  with my meal to unwind a bit.

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Hi Everyone,

We are busy getting ready for Race week, and of course the bank holiday weekend. I just thought Id do a little post on “the prep” required as its something I’m asked about regularly. These are just a few hints and tips that help to prep for a big event.

* If You are coming to the salon for curls or an up-style, Wash and dry Your hair the night before. Its better to blast it dry with a hairdryer as this will help to smooth the cuticle down and it will have a better shine the next day. Letting the natural oils settle overnight will ensure the style holds better for You.

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Hi Everyone,

I just thought Id share, my little piece of heaven with You today. For the locals  You are all very familiar with Lough Lannagh. For all my other readers, Lough Lannagh is our little urban retreat here in Castlebar. Lough Lannagh consists of a great little walking trail around the town lake, basically. Its been kept really well and in fairness We are really lucky to have it. Its about 2k to loop around I usually do 2-3 laps as my workout. The thing is the place is absolutely beautiful. You are walking along by trees, water and a fabulous view of Crogh Patrick. There is a bridge crossing the lake and You can walk around by the playground if You wish. Even on a wet day there is still something lovely  about the place. The photo above was taken last March just before our wedding. The one below I took this morning.

 I mean seriously, isn’t it just beautiful, I’m really lucky because I get to walk here a few times a week. It takes me about five minutes  to walk from my salon to here. I try and go on my lunch hour if I can, well the days I get a lunch (hairdresser problems eh?) This place is my “chill out time” after a few laps of “the lake” as we call it locally I just feel all my stress melts away. Its such a lovely calming place, even when my mind is in turmoil over something I can always see things more clearly after a good brisk walk here.

There’ s the Greenway Café for anyone who wants to stop for a bite of lunch. I always think its a bit cruel to be advertising delicious desserts and us poor souls out in all weather trying to fight the flab. I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting the Greenway café just yet but I have heard fantastic reports on it and I will try it out soon.

 So You can see from the photos why us folk of Castlebar love the place so much. I genuinely think it has brought such contentment to the locals. I think it just brilliant and it has really helped me to de-stress and look after my mental health, as well as helping with weight-loss and fitness.

So there You have it, one of the many little gems here in the West . I often think visitors to the town probably miss out on it. Its only minutes away from the main shopping area. Next time Your in Castlebar pop down and see for Yourself. Trust me the place is so calming You will fall in love with it, and stop at the Greenway Café, if they can tempt you in.

As always, thank You for reading and please hit that share button.

Love Maria xx

Hey Everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed Your weekend, Just a quick little Blog post today, on the outfit I wore yesterday to SoSueMe workshop in Glasshouse Hotel Sligo. (Full post coming soon on the event)

So this is the great outfit I picked up in River Island on my trip to Dublin last week. I fell in love with this suede skirt. Suede is everywhere at the moment and ties in with the bohemian seventies theme that is taking the fashion world by storm this autumn. Think warm rustic, browns, deep orange, khaki and mustard tones.

buy it here

suede skirt

Here I am in the changing room in River Island taking a cheeky Snapchat. If You are not already following me my user name is mrspdilly2b add me. All my best antics go on snapchat first.

This skirt is a great fit, I’m a size 14 and its lovely on, its a heavy material too so its very flattering on. Theres also a thick waist band so it pulls everything in. Great for us Mammies. I went for a simple black cami top with it. The skirt is a great statement piece so I wanted something simple to wear with it. Black is always good.

You can buy it here

I love River Island and its so handy to buy online, most of the sizes are pretty true to life.  The size 14 usually fits me perfectly. The autumn winter collection is to die for, absolutely amazing. Go on now and shop until you drop.

Here I am with Suzanne Jackson, she is an absolute lady and a lovely person. I was  so lucky to meet her in person.

So thats  all for today folks, let me know if you decide to buy the outfit.

Love Maria xx

Hi Everyone,

As some of You already know I attended SoSueMe workshop in The Glasshouse Sligo on Sunday. If You are not already  familiar with SoSueMe, it is a blog\brand created by Dublin Gal Suzanne Jackson. SoSueMe is hugely popular amongst us ladies and I would regularly follow Suzanne on social media to keep up with the latest goings on.

Deep in blogger chat

If You have been following me for a while You will know that I started off running a busy Facebook page for my salon. This moved into an inspiring Instagram account, to track my bridal prep and weight-loss progress. Which in turn led me to writing a hairdressing blog on my salon website. This eventually brought me to a fully fledged Blogger and so MrsDillonsDiary kind of evolved really.

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Hi Everyone,

Happy Thursday, Just a short little post for You today. As its summer, I am eating loads of salad at the moment. I have always been looking for a tasty salad dressing to add a bit of flavour, to my leaves. Yesterday I threw a few ingredients in a bowl and came up with this great little dressing. You can use it on sandwiches or wraps either, or even as a dip. Its tasty and only takes two minutes, it will keep in the fridge for a few days. I think its fabulous tossed through a salad, its refreshing and light and adds a bit of a kick to Your summer salad. You can make it hotter if you wish by adding more mustard. For any Unislim people its only 1\2 a yum for a teaspoon of honey so its only 1  yum for the whole thing,  as all the other ingredients are FREE it will probably last two to three days.

All You need is,

2 Dessert spoons of Lighter than light mayonnaise, I used Hellmanns

The zest grated & juice of half a lime,

1 teaspoon of English mustard, I used Colmans

2 teaspoon of honey 1 yum on unislim

Shake of black pepper

Method,

Mix the mayo and mustard together , stir well.

Add the lime zest & juice, honey & black pepper.

Mix really well.

Job Done,

Thanks for reading, Please hit the share button at the bottom of this page,& leave me a comment.

Love Maria xx

Well Ladies I was in Dublin yesterday, I got the crazy train at 5.37 am. This is super handy if You are travelling to the city centre. I was on a course for work, I’ll do another post and tell You all about that later. I was in Dublin for 8.30 am, and made it to Grafton street by 9am, I had a quick nose in River Island.(post coming later) as my course didn’t start until 10.

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So, I completed my first week at Unislim and had a fantastic loss of 5 &1/2 lbs. I was absolutely delighted with this result. I worked for it, and I got it. Weight loss is hard work and I don’t care what anyone says. It takes a lot of willpower as well as forward planning, and clever decision making. I call myself “the slut of slimming clubs” because I have been to them all. From Weight Watchers, to Slimming world to Motivation clinics, Gyms, Clean Eating, Calorie counting etc  I have tried them all. They all taught me a little bit, & actually they all work for a while at least, but its still a struggle for me every single day. I find it easy enough to maintain my weight but its harder to get those numbers down on the scale.

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